Watch a word by Father Pimen Vlad who tells us in his characteristic grace-filled style the life of Saint Demetrius as well as a part of the many miracles that this saint works.
Enjoy!
My dears, here we are again! You see behind me the great church of the hermitage, dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius. You see here the Saint on horseback, killing Lie, as it is told in his life. Why did I come here? You see that here is the big church of our hermitage. Our hermitage is just like a village, it has 17 chapels, each chapel with its little church, and in the center of the hermitage we have the big church, where we gather from all the cells, every Sunday and for holidays and we do the services together. This church is dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius, so the protector of our hermitage. That is why the hermitage is also called Schitu Lacu – The Holy Great Martyr Dimitrie.
Because the feast of the saint is approaching, I wanted to tell you a few things about his life, even though many of you know it. The Holy Great Martyr Demetrius was born in Thessalonica or Solun (as it was called in ancient times). His parents were of a good family, wealthy people, but God-fearing Christian people. His father was the voivode of Thessalonica. But in that period before Emperor Constantine, Christians were persecuted by all the emperors of that time. Because of this, his parents were hiding their faith. In a hidden room they had an icon with the Savior, one with the Mother of God and there they made their prayers in secret. One of their pains was that they had no children. And then they prayed a lot to the Mother of God and To God, and God listened to their prayers seeing their godliness and faith. Thus, He gave them a child: the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius.
They raised him properly until he reached the age where he could understand more, and then they took him to that room and said, “Look what our true God is, look what our true life is, not the one we live.” And St. Demetrius, being very wise as a child, understood everything and received with much love the Christian faith and was also baptized.
Passing the time, growing up, the time came for the saint’s parents to go to the Lord. Then the king, knowing that they had a skilled and wise son, called him to him and said to him: “Look, dad left this world. I learned about you that you are wise and valiant, and I want you to take over the leadership of Thessalonica and go and kill all Christians.” All this happened in the time of Emperor Maximilian. The great Martyr Demetrius went to Thessalonica, but he did not do what the emperor told him, but on the contrary, he began to preach the Christian faith and return people to the faith. He was like another apostle for the Thessalonians. Of course, as time passed, the king also heard, and he went to Thessalonica to check if it is like so. As he had just won in a war, he came from the city to the city and made feasts to thank the gods.
Saint Demetrius learned that the emperor was also coming to Thessalonica and knew that the emperor had learned of his situation. Thus, he called Lupu, a Christian servant of his, entrusted him with all his wealth and told him to go and share it with all the poor because he had to prepare that the emperor was coming. He locked himself in a room and put himself on fasting and prayer in order to strengthen himself spiritually, while his servant shared all the wealth of the poor to be sure that the wealth would go to the poor and not to the emperor, in case he found that he was a Christian.
The emperor came, called St. Demetrius and asked him if it was true what was heard, that he was a Christian. It acknowledged: “Yes, king, it’s true. I am a Christian and I confess Jesus Christ. And I’m telling you to stop worshiping these boulders.” Hearing this, the emperor became angry and put him in prison. He had a prison near his palace, below, like a bathroom, and he imprisoned Saint Dimitrie there. During this period, through all the fortresses where the emperor went, games were organized. One of these games was the heptathlon, whoever managed to win in 7 battles was declared the winner and received many gifts from the emperor. Among those who were fighting was Also Lie, a two-and-a-half-meter fighter, very powerful, taken from a barbarian land overcome by the emperor. The battles were fought on a high bridge, which was bordered by sharp spears, and Lie, being strong, took those he was fighting with and threw them into spears and thus won each time.
The emperor, being a bloodthirsty man, was glad to see these battles. The Trapped Christians were brought there and forced to fight Lie. Also in those days lived a young man named Nestor, who was only 20 years old. And seeing this what Lie was doing, he went to St. Demetrius in prison and said to him: “Holy, please bless me to go and fight Lie, he kills many Christians and I can’t bear that anymore.” Then, Saint Demetrius blessed him: “You will overcome Lie, and Christ you will confess.”
And of course, Nestor went and asked to fight Lie. When the king saw him as half the opponent, he said to him:
– If you are impoverished or you are poor, come to me to enrich you. Don’t go to be killed by this one. Rather come to me in my army.
– No, king, I want to fight Lie. I’m not poor, I’m not impoverished, but I’m a Christian.
– Then go to kill you too.
And Nestor entered the arena making himself a great cross, and saying: “God of Demetrius, help me!” Then he walked to Lie, took him in his arms, how big he was, and threw him into spears from the first, without much fighting. Seeing this, the emperor became very angry and went to Nestor to ask him what spells he had done this with.
– Not with spells, but with the power of Christ.
– Take it and cut off Nestor’s head.
Not long after, the emperor found out that Nestor had done this with the blessing of Demetrius, and then he said: “Go to jail and kill him.” Meanwhile, in prison St. Demetrius had been visited by Christ and an angel who said to him: “Don’t be afraid. You will overcome the king and crown yourself.” When, at the king’s command, the soldiers came with their spears to him to kill him, he raised his hands up and was speared in the side like the Savior. And so he gave his soul into the hands of Christ. Christians took the body of the Saint and with it many miracles were performed. After this period of persecution had passed, a church was built on his grave.
A wealthy man from our lands, somewhere north of the Danube, named Leo, finding out about the miracles of St. Demetrius, came and commanded to dig to make a larger church. And when it was dug, the relics of the Saint were found, whole, fragrant, with myrrh on them. When the church was ready, he also wanted to take a part of the relics, and then a voice came out of the tomb that said: “Do not dare” and he was shown St. Demetrius, who told him not to take from the relics. Then Leon took only part of the garment, and from the relics he did not take. Returning to his homeland, he built a church there as well.
The relics taken out for worship, took out the fragrance and often sprang myrrh filling of with myrrh the scrape. Because of this he is also called the Holy Great Martyr Dimitrie the Myrrh Springer, and the world came with great piety to worship.
After a war with the barbarians, they took prisoners and two young virgins who embroidered very beautifully. The leader of the barbarians came to them and said to them:
– I found out that in your country there is a God named Demetrius. Make my face embroidered on a canvas so that I may also worship him.
– We know what you want for, you want us to embroider it and finally mock it yourself. But know that he is not God, he is a servant of God.
– If you do not embroider the face, they take your heads!
Then they, out of fear, began to embroider, but with tears. And they prayed: “Saint Demetrius, forgive us, we know what he wants to do, but we are afraid for our lives.” And when they finished embroidering, at that very moment St. Demetrius appeared, took them and brought them to his church in Thessalonica. That day was the very day of the Saint and everyone was in the church, at the vigil. Suddenly the virgins appeared with the cloth embroidered with the image of the Saint. Realizing what had happened, the world began to glorify the Great Martyr Demetrius and tell everyone the things he had seen.
Another story says that at his relics there was a servant named Onisiphorus. He was caught by a sin. When people came to worship with candles, what was he doing? He would take them and put them on one side and then sell them so that he would have a profit as well. And when he went as usual to the relics to take from the candles, a voice was heard saying: “Stop doing what you do.” But he did not take heed, and the next time the Saint rebuked him again: “But didn’t I tell you to stop doing it?” And at that moment he went blind. He began to ask forgiveness from the Saint, he began to tell everyone what he was doing and finally he was healed, and St. Demetrius wised him not to do such things anymore.
So Saint Demetrius is a great saint, a saint who together with St. George is one of the greatest holy martyrs of Christianity. Both were voivodes and left all these privileges and riches for Christ, for Heaven.
I remember one more thing. When I came here almost 30 years ago, there was a ruin of the whole hermitage. Of the 17 cells, there were few standing, but even those were in a poor condition. And the big church here had its roof broken, it was raining in it, plaster was falling from the walls, the pews were rotten, we can say that there was a disaster in the church. We were holding the services here, but only we know how we pulled it out. We had a stove in the middle of the church and we sat around it in the winter to warm up a bit. That’s how we were holding the services.
At one point, we arrived at a chapel somewhere in Katunakia, where the most famous singers were and there were also painters the parents there. And passing by Father Daniil, together with a parent here, from the hermitage, I told him about the situation in the hermitage, that we were gathered at a single chapel, and he said: “Eee, there you have the great church in honor of the Great Martyr Demetrius. He doesn’t leave you! The Mother of God and the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius will do a miracle and you will restore the whole church and the hermitage. He comes riding on his horse and he makes an ordinance there.” And indeed, we see in time that St. Demetrius helped, the church has been restored all, and the cells are 17 now, under the protection of the Mother of God and the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius.
And because his feast is approaching, those of you who can get to Thessalonica, it’s a big deal. There it is celebrated with great honor, and the week before the vigils at the Holy begin. And in Athens they have a custom, a couple of weeks before, the Dimitriades begin. Every evening, apart from prayers, homilies are made, that is, they call a spiritual parent and the world gathers. So they have to great honor the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius. And for this to pray, that it helps you a lot. Plus, in our country, the very next day after the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius, is the Holy Pious Demetrius Basarabov, who in Bucharest has the holy relics and so many people go to Bucharest to worship. So it is a double celebration and the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius he Myrrh Springer and Pious Demetrius Basarabov. You can go to Bucharest to take the blessing of the Venerable Demetrius Basarabov.
Let the Mother of God and the Saints, who are friends of God and our intercessors, the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius and Pious Demetrius Basarabov help us.
God help us!
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